Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Pushing yourself beyond your limits - its all mental!

I wanted to quit many times during Ironman St. George. It was a true test of my limits. This was the next day and I was glad I didn't!

Today I ran 7 miles, Sunday I ran 8 miles. Sunday I felt amazing like I could run fast and after 8 miles I still felt fresh. Today I ran 7 miles and felt like I was running through honey. Why can you feel so good one day and so bad a few days later? It happens all the time running, biking and swimming. It also happens to everyone. I know exactly why I felt like I did today and I knew it was important to push through it......so I did even if it was painfully slow and hard to do. There are a few reasons why my run was so bad today. The past week I have had slight symptoms of getting sick. A little runny nose, ears feel plugged, throat is a little scratchy. The problem is I have felt pretty good for the most part. I don't really feel sick but I don't feel 100%. Today it seems worse than it has but still not horrible. I did 3 (yes 3) workouts yesterday. I had a 3300 meter swim in the morning, strength training and spent 80 minutes doing a pretty tough trainer class. I think the combination of not feeling 100% and the 3 workouts yesterday didn't leave much in the tank for today. It is so important to push through the workouts like today because that is likely how you will feel on the run during an Ironman. When you complete a half or full Ironman you are not going to feel 100% on your run. You will be tired and you will want to quit. Your legs will feel like they weigh more than your whole body. But you have to keep going. You have to put your mind in another place and push yourself. You have to push the negative thoughts out of your head and you have to finish. Today I wanted to stop after 4 miles of running. I actually could have because I ran one of my dogs 4 miles and was planning on coming back to the house to get the other one for 3 more. It would have been so easy to call it a day at 4 miles ( I mean I am sick right). But I grabbed my other mutt and went out for another 3. No it wasn't my best pace, it wasn't my prettiest run, but mentally I gained more on this run then I did physically because I didn't quit. These days are really important for endurance athletes. The ability to persevere.